Big names in tires still best performers in safety tests

Tire handling was tested on a wet, circle-shaped, 58-m diameter road.

The European Pirelli tire won first place by finishing the test in 11.75 seconds. The runner-up was Continental, with a time of 11.87 seconds and Goodyear took third place with a time of 12.13 seconds.

Cars equipped with the other six tires finished the test with times between 12.15 seconds and 12.66 seconds. The car with Cooper tires came in last again, with a time of 13.14 seconds.

The Chinese tires were between 0.8 and 2 kg heavier than the European Pirelli tires, which could account for the poorer performance in the handling test.

The tables turned in the comfort test, where tires from Bridgestone, Cooper, Yokohama and Dunlop outperformed the European Pirelli tires.

China's road conditions mean tires made domestically have alterations to provide more comfort for car passengers, said Wang Yin, editor-in-chief and publisher of Auto Bild China.

Wang said this was not an excuse for such a large gap in terms of safety performance between locally made tires and European ones.

He suggested customers choose big international brands and higher rated tires when their budget allowed them to.

"Such brands as Michelin, Continental and Bridgestone are doing a relatively good job," Wang said.

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